Virtual machines are often based on a master virtual machine that acts as a template for creating additional virtual machines. In other words, a master virtual machine may be used to create similar or identical virtual machines that include instances of each file located within the master virtual machine. For example, if a master virtual machine includes executable file WINWORD.EXE, each virtual machine that derives from the master virtual machine may also include an instance of the WINWORD.EXE file.
In addition to including instances of each file located within the master virtual machine, virtual machines that are based on the master virtual machine may be programmed to perform one or more of the same analyses as the master virtual machine. For example, if 10 virtual machines derive from the master virtual machine, these virtual machines may be programmed to collectively perform 10 redundant malware analyses on instances of the WINWORD.EXE file even though the master virtual machine has already performed the same malware analysis on the WINWORD.EXE file. Such redundant analyses may consume valuable computing resources and result in decreased system performance.